Coch
by Five Awesome Writers
Summary: Howl has always been able to break hearts easily, so why can't he break Sophie's? AU, Sophie never became an old woman.


They call him Heartless Howl. And there is a very good reason for that. He doesn't have a heart. No, Howl Pendragon (Jenkins really, but be quiet about that) does not have a heart.

He gave it to an extremely powerful fire demon named Calcifer.*

It is a scientifically proven fact that people without hearts cannot fall in love. But Howl, well, the one thing he wanted most in the world was love. And maybe beautiful, as he was a rather self centered person.

Howl thought he fell in love so many times. Usually he was really only fooling himself, but somehow he always believed that he really loved them, even though as soon as they agreed they loved him he ran.

It happened much the same when Howl first caught sight of Sophie Hatter. It was at a Mayday festival, and the girl was wearing a grey dress that made her look like a mouse. The frightened look she wore only added to that.

He spoke to her, and offered to buy her a drink or escort her to her sister, since she looked so scared, and he was a gentleman. He was kind of a gentleman, anyway. He seemed to terrify the girl, and had to let her go without even so much as a name.

With most girls he would have just forgotten and moved on to charm another girl, but the mouse's face stayed in his mind and greatly decreased the amount of woman he wooed in the following year. He just couldn't forget the face of the mouse who had wanted to visit her sister.

A year later, again during Mayday, Howl was walking through back alleys, looking to escape the blob people the Witch of the Waste sent after him, though he wasn't particularly worried about them, as they were simple creatures and he knew exactly how to get rid of them. All he would have to do is fly up into the sky above the center, and get back to the castle that way.

"Looks like a little mouse has lost its way," Howl heard.

It was a soldier, most likely looking to take advantage of whatever poor girl he was talking to. The unfortunate girl would most likely be with child soon, the soldier long gone.

He had his own problems, and probably would have ignored it had he not heard the soldier describe whoever the girl was as a 'mouse'. Howl had never forgotten the mouse he had seen a year ago to the day, and he wanted desperately to speak with her.

It was the same girl, in the same grey dress and everything! Her red hair still flamed as brightly as ever, he was glad to notice. It could have very well faded along with the rest of her.

"There you are, sweetie," he said. He walked forward and put an arm around the redhead's shoulders, warning the soldiers away.

They complained, and it was obvious to Howl that they had never learned how to play nicely with a wizard's love interest.

"It looked like you were just leaving," he told them, enforcing it with some magic and a few hand gestures.

The soldiers marched off, and Howl looked down at the girl, who was truly lovely, even though most of her beauty was natural. Howl saw no point in everything being natural, but to each their own, he figured. He didn't believe in hating natural things as much as he believed in love, though he would never admit he believed in it. No one wants to sound like a little girl, especially not someone like Howl Pendragon.

Howl was a man, not a little school girl, and he would never let you forget it.

"Act natural, I'm being followed," he told the girl.

She whimpered and clutched her heart. Howl smirked. The girls were putty in his hands when they were scared. Well, they were always putty in his hands, but even more so when they were scared.

He led her through a few alleys before they were trapped and he had to fly both of them up, an easy feat as the mouse was a very light young woman.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked terrified, which Howl found rather endearing.

"Relax," he instructed. "Just spread you legs and walk."

She followed his directions, though rather hesitantly, and she was soon walking on thin air like she had been doing it all her life.

"So, where to, little mouse?"

"My name is Sophie," she told him, though looked a tad worried after the fact. It's probably best not to give ones name out to strangers, and Sophie looked smart. She had probably already figured out that he was the wizard Howl.

"Nice to meet you, Sophie, I'm Howl," he introduced himself to her as they strolled over the happy festival goers. If one of them had looked up they would have been in for a nasty shock, seeing a man and a woman walking together far above.

"I know," she said. "You kissed my sister."

"I did? When was that?" So he didn't remember all of his conquests, it was nothing to get huffy over.

"Lettie Hatter," Sophie growled. "Last Mayday."

"Oh," Howl said. He thought about it for a few seconds. "No, I'm not recalling any Lettie Hatters."

"You jerk!" She pushed him, and he lost his hold on her, causing her to start plummeting towards the earth.

Sophie screamed, causing the people celebrating below to look up, the woman adding their screams to Sophie's own.

"I hate you!" Sophie managed to shout at Howl.

He flew after her, part of his brain saying he wouldn't make it, and another part saying that she wasn't worth it. The biggest part, however, won out, the part that contained his newly found love for the red head.

He caught her seconds before she hit the ground. "Lucky save, huh, coch?"

"Idiot," she grumbled into his chest.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Childish riddles never lost their fun, and that was Howl's only defense.

*He has asked me to introduce him in this way, but I suppose he is rather powerful.

**Hello, Suki here, starting everything off. I don't own HMC, and I hope you enjoy.**

**Meh, I always thought my first HMC fic would be on my own profile… whatever. This is for Tuesday, and shall be continued next Friday!**

**Or Thursday. Maybe.**

**See ya'!**

**(FIRST STORY!)**


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